Dick Gregory Rhetorical Devices

In Dick Gregory’s Not Poor, Just Broke the use of rhetorical strategies are established to further entice the reader. Within the short excerpt, Gregory gives sensory details and real life experiences that convey emotion and express feelings which in turn interest the reader. Gregory’s use of rhetorical strategies makes it easy to place one’s self in his childhood shoes, and therefore connects to the sentiments of the audience. When analyzing this piece it is evident that through tone, authorial bias, and purpose Dick Gregory’s work captivates an audience of many different racial backgrounds and upbringings.
With his tone, Gregory establishes a somber or serious type of mood. Although the mood is solemn, the audience is not saddened by his racist troubles and harsh upbringing. Instead, Gregory impresses the reader with his values and morals. As the title suggest, he is rich within himself but broke compared to society’s standard. He directly tells the reader “I guess she couldn’t see a kid who made noises because he wanted someone to know he was there.” The childhood Gregory is feeling broken down, defeated, and invisible within his own skin. The childhood Gregory feels as if he has something to offer inside; he wants to feel like someone is there behind the color of his skin, and stereotypes placed upon him.
Gregory incorporates many innuendos that hint that he is not as fortunate compared to his “light-complected” counterpart. He says, “And she had a Daddy, and he had a good job.” Everything that he lacked as a young, black male is everything that people on the opposite end of the color spectrum had. That was, everything that Gregory developed a longing desire for. However, Gregory is biased due to his lack of. As a black male in a seemingly racist society, he is not given the equal chance of a lighter skin parallel. Due to being “pregnant with poverty,” Gregory’s wants are shifted toward a happier, wealthier life. What he fails to realize is although his